Haematological, Biochemical, and Inflammatory Biomarkers of COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized in Critical Unit: A Retrospective Study

Radi T Alsafi; Faisal Minshawi; Ahmad Alshareef; Essa Althobiany; Afnan Alqurashi; Ayat Zawawi; Ahmed Qasem; Amr J Halawani; Mohammed Almatrafi; Hassan Alwafi; Mohammed Samannodi; Emad Salawati; Hamza M Assaggaf

doi:10.7759/cureus.23691

Haematological, Biochemical, and Inflammatory Biomarkers of COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized in Critical Unit: A Retrospective Study

Cureus. 2022 Mar 31;14(3):e23691. doi: 10.7759/cureus.23691. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, SAU.
² Clinical Molecular Department, Regional Laboratory in Makkah, Ministry of Health, Mecca, SAU.
³ Laboratory and Blood Bank, Al Noor Specialist Hospital, Ministry of Health, Mecca, SAU.
⁴ Molecular Biology, Independent Researcher, Mecca, SAU.
⁵ Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, SAU.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, SAU.
⁷ Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, SAU.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, SAU.
⁹ Family Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, SAU.

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) responsible for a catastrophic global pandemic. The complexity of COVID-19 is centred on the unpredictable course of the disease, which can rapidly develop from patients being asymptomatic to having life-threatening symptoms. The unpredictable disease severity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been a major problem facing the healthcare system during the pandemic. Identifying the laboratory biomarkers would help predict SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. This study focused on the previous literature regarding three laboratory biomarker profiles: haematological, inflammatory, and biochemical biomarkers.

Methods: A retrospective study of COVID-19 patients was conducted between May 2020 and September 2020 to determine the predictors of hospitalization (severity) in COVID-19 patients. Patients were divided into two groups: those admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU, severe) and those admitted to a non-ICU (stable). Patients' data were obtained from their medical records at Al Noor Specialist Hospital and East Arafat Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Results: A total of 487 patients with COVID-19, including 304 males and 183 females, were investigated in this study. A total of 217 patients were admitted to the ICU. Patients admitted to the ICU had a higher prevalence of chronic comorbidities than non-ICU patients. D-dimer, white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were more elevated in patients admitted to the ICU compared to non-ICU patients.

Conclusion: Chronic comorbidities are a significant predictor for admission to the ICU. Moreover, tests for D-dimer, WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, CRP, LDH, and ALT could be used to predict patients' admission to the ICU.

Keywords: chronic comorbidities; covid-19; icu; inflammatory biomarkers; sars-cov-2.